Doll having posable arm joined thereto by elastically stretched connector

ABSTRACT

A shoulder joint for a use in a doll whose arm can be pivoted at the shoulder and whose hand can be opened and closed by moving a lever on the doll body, including a connector with a hole extending through the axis of pivoting of the arm on the body. A cable which connects the hand to the operating mechanism on the body, extends through the hole in the connector, so that tension in the cable is not changed when the arm pivots. The connector is constructed of rubber and installed in a stretched condition, so that it forces surfaces of the arm and body into contact to create friction that permits posing of the arm in a variety of positions.

United States Patent [191 Bear et al.

[ 1 Jan. 30, 1973 [75] Inventors: David L. Bear, Palos Verdes Estates;Stephen W. Piurkowsky,

Torrance, both of Calif.

[73] Assignee: Mattel, Inc., Hawthorne, Calif.

[22] Filed: Nov. 4, 1971 I 211 Appl. No.: 195,610

2,007,784 7/l935 Wittmann ..46/l73 3,234,689 2/1966 Ryan ...46/l6l3,390,481 7/1968 Runanin .46/126 Primary Examiner-F. Barry ShayAttorney-Seymour A. Schol'nick [57] ABSTRACT A shoulder joint for a usein a doll whose arm can be pivoted at the shoulder and whose hand can beopened and closed by moving alever on the doll body, including aconnector with a hole extending through the axis of pivoting of the armon the body. A cable which connects the hand to the operating mechanismon the body, extends through the hole in the connector, so that tensionin the cable is not changed when the arm pivots. The connector isconstructed of rubber and installed in a stretched condition, so that itforces surfaces of the arm and body into contact to create friction thatpermits posing of the arm in a variety of positions.

1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEUJAHBO ms 3 713 252 sum 1 [IF 2PATENTEDJAN 30 1975 SHEET 2 UF 2 DOLL HAVING POSABLE ARM JOINED THERETOBY ELASTICALLY STRETCIIED CONNECTOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thisinvention relates to dolls, and more particularly to a joint for dolls.

One type of animated doll has controllable hands for grasping andreleasing objects, the hands being controlled by operating levers on thedoll body. Movement of a control lever can pull a cable that extendsthrough the shoulder joint and along the arm to the hand fortransmitting forces to the hand mechanism. This type of doll isdescribed in patent application Ser. No. 163,202, filed July 16, 1971 byLewis et al., which describes a doll whose left hand has a movable thumbfor grasping and releasing objects and whose right hand has a movablemagnet for attracting and releasing iron objects. Where the remotelyoperated hand mechanisms are on an arm that can pivot at the shoulderrelative to the doll body, it is desirable that a construction be usedwhich enables pivoting of the arm without affecting tension in thecable, so that the hand does not automatically release or grasp anobject just because the arm is moved. It is also desirable that thejoint construction enable posing of the arm at a variety of positions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention, a doll is provided which has a relatively simpleshoulder joint that enables posing of the arm at a variety of positions,and which has a control mechanism for remote manipulation of the handfrom the doll body which is not affected by pivoting of the arm. Thedoll includes an elongated connector of rubber or other elastic materialhaving opposite ends respectively mounted on the arm and body, at leastone of the mountings enabling pivoting so that the arm can pivot on thebody. The connector has a hole extending therethrough with opposite endsrespectively opening into the arm and the body, and a cord extendsthrough the hole and has one end connected to an operating lever in thebody and an opposite end connected to a mechanism on the hand to moveit. The hole in the connector extends along an axis of pivoting of thearm on the body, so that pivoting of the arm does not affect the cordand therefore does not affect the condition of the hand mechanism. Theconnector is initially installed in a stretched condition, so that itresiliently urges bearing surfaces of the arm against correspondingsurfaces of the body. This creates sufficient friction to enable posingof the arm in a variety of orientations to which it may be pivoted.

The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularlity inthe appended claims. The invention will be best understood from thefollowing description when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a sectional front view of adoll constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken on the line 33 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of the operating mechanism andconnector of FIG. I.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. 1, the doll 10of the invention has a body 12 and a pair of arms 14, 16 pivotallymounted on shoulder portions of the body. Each of the arms l4, 16 has ananimated hand mechanism 18, 20. The mechanism 18 on the right armincludes a magnet 22 that can move against and away from a palm region24 of the doll to attract and release iron objects therefrom. Themechanism 20 on the left arm includes a pivotally mounted thumb 26 thatcan open and close on a finger portion 28 to release and grasp objects.Each of the hand mechanisms 18, 20 is operated by a cord 30, 32 thatextends through the shoulder joint and into the doll body. A pair ofoperating buttons 34, 36 at the sides of the doll body can be depressedto pivot levers 35, 37 that pull on the cords 30, 32 to operate themechanisms. A spring in each of the hand mechanisms returns themechanism to its original state when the tension in the cord is releasedas the operating button is released.

Each of the arms l4, 16 is pivotally mounted on a shoulder portion 38,40 of the doll body. The joints are constructed to enable a wide degreeof pivoting about substantially horizontal axes 42, 44 relative to thebody, so that the arms can be raised and lowered. The joints also allowfor a limited amount of pivoting about perpendicular horizontal axes 46,48. Unless special precautions are taken, pivoting of the arms would belikely to affect the tension in the cords, so that the hand mechanismswould be affected by the positon of the arms. This is undesirable,inasmuch as this could prevent effective operation of the handmechanisms at certain positions of the arms on the body, and also couldhamper a child from moving the arm while it firmly held an object.

In accordance with the invention, connectors 50, 52 are provided thatjoin the doll body 12 to the arms 14, 16 in a manner that enablespivoting of the arms without affecting the hand mechanisms 18, 20, andwhich also enables posing of the arms at a variety of pivotal positions.The joint mechanisms operate in similar manners, so that a descriptionof one of them applies to the other. The connector 50 has a hole 60 thatextends along its length and which is substantially coaxial with theaxis of pivoting 42 of the arm on the body. The cord 30 extends throughthe hole 60, with an inner end 301 of the cord within the body and anouter end 300 within the arm. The inner end 301 of the cord extendsthrough a slot 62in a portion of the operating lever 35 and the cord hasa bushing 64 fastened on its extreme inner end to retain it in position.The lever 35 has an axle portion 66-pivotally mounted on the doll, sothat depression of the button 34 causes the lever 35 to pivot in adirection that pulls on the cord so that the outer end 300 is pulledagainst a spring 68 to retract the magnet 22. When the arm 14 pivots toa large extent about the axis 42 relative to the doll body, there is notincrease or decrease in cord tension. Accordingly, if the doll hand 14is magnetically holding an object, the object will not be releasedregardless of pivoting of the arm about the axis 42.

The arm 14 can pivot to only a limited extent about the axis 46, butthis is often sufficient for realistic play. When the arm is pivotedabout the axis 46, there is a small change in cord tension, because acord-guiding post 70 is displaced from the axis of pivoting 46. However,the displacement is small and pivoting about the axis 46 is limited toonly several degrees, so that a very small change in tension occurs.

The inner end portion 14] of the doll arm 14 is spherically rounded andis designed to be received in a recess or aperture 72 at the shoulderportion of the doll body. This permits realistic pivoting over a smallangle about the axis 46 and also allows pivoting about the axis 42 ofthe arm on the body. The hole 72 is of smaller diameter that the largestdiameter of the inner arm portion 14], so that the arm can be pushedonly to a limited amount into the hold 72, and then the walls of the armbear against the walls of the hold 72. The arm is constructed with aninner web 74 that has a hole which is only slightly greater than thediameter of the connector portion 54, to retain the connector inposition while allowing pivoting of the arm on the connector about theaxis 42. Similarly, the doll body has an inner web 76 with a hole thatreceives the center connector portion 54 to retain it in place. The holein the web 74 is large enough to permit free pivoting of the arm on theconnector, to provide a rotational shoulder joint. Both the arm 14 anddoll body 12 are constructed of front and rear halves that are fittedand glued together to permit installation of the connectors 50, 52.

The connectors 50, 52 are constructed of an elastic material such as amoderately soft rubber. The connectors are installed in a stretchedstate: That is, when the inner end l4l of the arm is pushed as far as itcan be pushed into the shoulder recess 72, the connector 50 is stillstretched in extension between the web 74 on the arm and the web 76 onthe body. This assures that the inner arm end l4l will bear hard againstthe walls of the hole 72. The friction created by the force of bearingof the arm on the body enables posing of the arm. Thus, when the arm 14is pivoted about the axis 42 to a desired position, the friction willprevent the arm from falling down, and therefore it will remain posed inthe desired position. This friction also enables posing of the arm whenit is pivoted to a limited extent about the axis 46. Of course, theconnector resists pivoting about the axis 46, since this results inbending of the connector portion 54, but the friction can be high enoughto allow posing over several degrees of bending about the axis 46.

Thus, the connector construction allows pivoting of an arm on a dollbody without affecting a cable that transmits forces from a mechnaism inthe body to a mechanism at the outer end of the arm, and which alsopermits posing of the arm at a wide variety of positions. Thetransmittal of forces from an operating mechanism on the arm isaccomplished by providing a cable-guiding hole that extends through theconnector along the axis of pivoting of the arm on the body. A simplepivotal connection that permits posing is accomplished by using anelastic connector and installing it in a stretched condition to createfrictional forces where the arm bears against a surface of the body.Such frictional forces not only permit posing of the arm when it isrotated about an axis which does not bend the connector, but alsoenables posing for up to several degrees of arm pivoting about an axisthat does cause bending of the elastic connector.

Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described andillustrated herein, it is recognized that modifications and variationsmay readily occur to those skilled in the art and, consequently, it isintended that the claims be interpreted to cover such modifications andequivalents.

What is claimed is:

1. A doll comprising:

a body having a shoulder portion, said body also having a movableoperating member thereon;

an arm having inner and outer end portions and having a movable part atsaid outer end portion;

. an armature having opposite ends respectively mounted on said shoulderportion of said body and said inner end portion of said arm to connectthem and constituting a pivot permitting pivoting of said arm on saidbody about a first axis, said armature having a hole extendingtherethrough along said first axis;

a cord extending through said hole in said armature and having an outercord portion in said arm and an inner cord portion in said body;

means coupling said inner portion of said cord to said operating member,so that movement of said member pulls and releases said cord;

means coupling said outer portion of said cord to said movable part insaid arm to cause said part to move as said cord is pulled and released;

said armature being constructed of an elastic materisaid body and armhaving slidably abutting portions and having means engaging saidopposite ends of said armature so that said armature is stretched, tocause said abutting portions to bear against each other, whereby topermit posing of said arm at different orientations.

1. A doll comprising: a body having a shoulder portion, said body alsohaving a movable operating member thereon; an arm having inner and outerend portions and having a movable part at said outer end portion; anarmature having opposite ends respectively mounted on said shoulderportion of said body and said inner end portion of said arm to connectthem and constituting a pivot permitting pivOting of said arm on saidbody about a first axis, said armature having a hole extendingtherethrough along said first axis; a cord extending through said holein said armature and having an outer cord portion in said arm and aninner cord portion in said body; means coupling said inner portion ofsaid cord to said operating member, so that movement of said memberpulls and releases said cord; means coupling said outer portion of saidcord to said movable part in said arm to cause said part to move as saidcord is pulled and released; said armature being constructed of anelastic material; said body and arm having slidably abutting portionsand having means engaging said opposite ends of said armature so thatsaid armature is stretched, to cause said abutting portions to bearagainst each other, whereby to permit posing of said arm at differentorientations.